The present invention relates to an ink ribbon cartridge for use in a color printer, specifically in a color printer of a sublimating and thermal transfer type.
Ink ribbon cartridges for a color printer are well known in the art. Generally, the ink ribbon cartridge includes a supply spool and a take-up spool rotatably disposed in a cartridge housing. The spools carry an ink ribbon connected at its both ends with the spools and wound thereon. The ink ribbon has a plurality of color regions arranged in series. Each of the color regions includes color segments, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and the like. The cartridge housing, the spools, and the ink ribbon are made of different kinds of synthetic resin such as HIPS (high impact polystyrene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), or the like. A metal coil spring is interposed between a wall of the cartridge housing and one end of each of the spools and biases the spool against the wall.
Related Japanese Patent Applications No. P05-015037 and No. P05-195046 have been filed but unpublished.
Upon installation of the spool in the prior art ink ribbon cartridge, the coil spring mounted on the end of the spool must be installed in a compressed state on the corresponding wall of the cartridge housing. This installation work is neither easy nor convenient.
In addition, the prior art ink ribbon cartridge is generally of a disposable type. When the ink ribbon cartridge is disposed of, the metal coil spring must be separated from the cartridge housing made of synthetic resin. Similarly, the ink ribbon, the cartridge housing, and the spools, which are made of different kinds of synthetic resin from each other, must be separated upon melting for reuse. For instance, specifically in the case of the cartridge housing and spools made of HIPS, great heat energy of 15,000 kcal/kg is generated when they are melted in an incinerator. This great heat generation leads to a damage to the incinerator.